{"id":481434,"date":"2026-03-02T20:32:27","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T20:32:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/481434\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T20:32:27","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T20:32:27","slug":"avalanches-best-trade-deadline-assets-the-hockey-writers-colorado-avalanche","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/481434\/","title":{"rendered":"Avalanche\u2019s Best Trade Deadline Assets – The Hockey Writers – Colorado Avalanche"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Colorado Avalanche didn\u2019t waste much time coming out of the Olympic break before they made a roster move. Defenseman Samuel Girard and a 2028 second-round pick were sent to the Pittsburgh Penguins for veteran defenseman Brett Kulak<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Though some on the Avalanche may use their Olympic experience as fuel<\/a> for the stretch run, many feel that they are bound to make a big move<\/a>. If they were planning on making a push with their new-found salary cap space, what could they be sending back the other way?<\/p>\n

2027 First-Round Pick<\/p>\n

The 2026 first-round pick is not available anymore<\/a> but has been more than worth the cost because of Brock Nelson<\/a>\u2019s performance. If you can get that kind of impact back, a first-round pick is but a small price to pay.<\/p>\n

The Avalanche don\u2019t have a pick in the first three rounds of the 2026 NHL Draft but do have three picks in the first two rounds of the 2027 draft. Their first-round pick will be the best piece at their disposal, especially for landing a big-ticket player.<\/p>\n

\"BrockBrock Nelson, Colorado Avalanche (Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

The Avalanche are merely following the protocol of major contending teams in recent years: trade the future for the present. The Avalanche will be legitimate contenders with the core they have built for the next three or four years, at a minimum. While it is nice to have a stocked cupboard, the Avalanche have also built such a strong roster that it would be quite difficult for a prospect to crack it.<\/p>\n

Ross Colton<\/p>\n

The move to send Girard and his $5 million AAV out of town has lessened the need to move on from Colton\u2019s $4 million AAV through 2026-27. Colton plays with speed and tenacity, capable of chipping in 30-40 points when he\u2019s fully healthy.<\/p>\n

Related: Colorado Avalanche Week Ahead: Schedule, Storylines, Trade Deadline, Kulak Dominance, and More<\/a><\/p>\n

Including Colton \u2013 a valuable middle-six presence \u2013 would give the Avalanche more flexibility and likely only cost them a single premium asset instead of two or three. Colton\u2019s salary is also meager enough that it doesn\u2019t present a huge workaround.<\/p>\n

It would not be surprising if Colton remains in Denver as a valuable third-line presence. With nearly $9 million in cap space, the Avalanche have a lot of flexibility to work with. Colton would only need to be sent the other way in a truly massive move.<\/p>\n

Mikhail Gulyayev\/Ilya Nabokov\/Oskar Olausson<\/p>\n

The Avalanche have one of the weaker farm systems in the NHL<\/a> right now, but that\u2019s what happens when you trade assets away to take another run at a Stanley Cup. There are no slam-dunk prospects that make sense, but a few B-level prospects that could be attached to a pick.<\/p>\n

Gulyayev, the 31st pick in 2023, has good size and mobility on the back end. He has puck skills but doesn\u2019t look like much of an offense presence at the next level. The biggest question is whether he will leave the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) or simply remain at home.<\/p>\n

Nabokov was signed to a two-year entry-level contract but ultimately loaned to Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL for this season. He\u2019s had a few high-end seasons, showing great athleticism as a starter in the KHL. It is expected that he will be in North America for 2026-27, so he could be enticing to a team that needs young goaltending potential.<\/p>\n

\"IlyaIlya Nabokov, Metallurg Magnitogorsk (Photo by Maksim Konstantinov\/SOPA Images\/LightRocket via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

A 2021 first-round pick, Olausson hasn\u2019t quite found his offensive game yet, posting okay numbers in the American Hockey League (AHL). He might be a good fit in someone\u2019s middle-six because of his playmaking ability but it feels doubtful he will crack the stacked Avalanche lineup, making him a more likely candidate to move.<\/p>\n

Many Potential Options<\/p>\n

The Avalanche have a big week ahead of them with the potential to add to the NHL\u2019s best team (according to the standings). The Kulak trade gave them more financial flexibility to make a move, making them contenders for virtually every big name on the market.<\/p>\n

Adding another piece to the puzzle and finding a way to stay healthy down the stretch and into the playoffs will put the Avalanche in position to win another championship. They are certainly doing everything in their power to make the path in the playoffs more tenable.<\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Colorado Avalanche didn\u2019t waste much time coming out of the Olympic break before they made a roster…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":481435,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5116],"tags":[193,1034,192,144,5277,5,1202,4548,4,4998,1351],"class_list":["post-481434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-colorado-avalanche","tag-avalanche","tag-brock-nelson","tag-colorado","tag-colorado-avalanche","tag-coloradoavalanche","tag-hockey","tag-ilya-nabokov","tag-mikhail-gulyayev","tag-nhl","tag-oskar-olausson","tag-ross-colton"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116161492758943369","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=481434"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481434\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/481435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=481434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=481434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=481434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}